


Betty's Paying Guest

by fictitiousOshine



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, Alice likes Jughead though, Alternate Universe, Angry Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews is a Good Friend, But you can't hate her, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Jughead Jones and Food, Jughead loves food, Kissing, Minor Character Death (Mentioned), Soft Jughead Jones, Sort Of, Turned out a little angsty, because she's cute, thanks to Alice Cooper
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:01:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24661966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictitiousOshine/pseuds/fictitiousOshine
Summary: Guilty of playing gooseberry, Jughead moves out of Archie's (and Veronica's), only to move into an unknown neighbor's house as a paying guest.Little does he expect to feel out of his element and dislike Betty Cooper—who he thought he could be friends with.And then, much less, have feelings for her.
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 5
Kudos: 25
Collections: 7th Bughead Fanfiction Awards - Nominees





	Betty's Paying Guest

**Author's Note:**

  * For [msmaj](https://archiveofourown.org/users/msmaj/gifts).



> Woo-hoo ✊🥳
> 
> This is my gift-fic for the lovely, precious, [@msmaj](https://archiveofourown.org/users/msmaj) who has inspired this fic. Drabbles I thought I'd only send her through texts, ended up in a fic with chapters - 
> 
> \- I could share with you all and myself!
> 
> Hope you all like it.
> 
> ♡ Oshine
> 
> PS: My spacing and formatting got messed up (I don't know how), and I'm trying to fix it. I'm sorry...

Street fights?

It sure is  an upgrade, Miss Pickpocket.

_Dude you’re jealous! Admit it_

Nah, too old for that shit. I’ve moved on.

_Say that in front of dad and you’re dead_

Jughead rolled his eyes at his sister’s reply just as two soft arms wrapped around his throat, his head getting cradled. “Can’t breathe,” he lied dramatically. The smell of something that was supposed to be lavender, but wasn’t, made him cough.

“I’m going to miss you,” the familiar voice crooned.

“It’s the house on the other side of the fence, Veronica,” Jughead choked out, merely thinking of picking up an apple from the kitchen table he was sitting at and hitting the raven-haired woman standing behind him in the head.

Veronica finally let him go and gave him a sad smile. She’d become an important part of his life over the last 10 months, just like Archie. “Well. Just remember you’re always welcome here,” she replied, her chin parallel to the ground.

“Thanks,” he murmured as he fixed his beanie, then cleared his throat. “You think I’ll be homeless in the bigger picture, don’t you?”

“It’s not impossible.”

He scoffed.

The oven beeped and Archie wheeled into sight. “Sandwiches are ready,” he announced, already plating them like a pro.

Veronica let out a sweet laugh and went around the table to take a seat. “Need help, Archiekins?” she asked in a singsong voice, for the sake of it, and Jughead knew Archie’s reply.

“I’ve got this, baby.”

“Don’t cut yourself,” Jughead suggested. “I like a sandwich without blood on it,” he added, earning a death glare from Veronica.

“I won’t, Jug. But I appreciate you being concerned about me.”

“That’s me,” Jughead shrugged, smiling at Veronica, who seemed a little cheesed off.

“That’s not funny, okay? You should be ashamed of yourself,” she chided in a whisper.

Before he could reply, Archie appeared and put a grilled cheese sandwich in front of him and returned to the kitchen counter.

“You talk to Betty, Arch?” Jughead asked, as he waited for Archie to join the table.

After a little moving around and seemingly ignoring Jughead’s curious question, Archie finally took a seat beside Veronica, sliding one of the rest of the two plates towards her. “Yeah. She said she’ll be home.”

Jughead nodded, curtly. “It’s time, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Archie shrugged. “Good for you, bro.”

This was it; the part where even a tasty sandwich sucked; moving out started to feel like a blunder if not a mistake. He just didn’t— His thoughts vanished as he realized Veronica and Archie were busy sucking each other’s lips.

Jughead didn’t look away, though, his teeth sinking into the sandwich, his neck craning back and forearms falling to the table with a low thud so he could close his mouth and chew.

“Are you sure you want to leave, Jug?” Archie asked offhandedly. It was a question out of the realization that they weren’t alone; that he was present, too. The self-proclaimed gooseberry.

Jughead nodded vigorously, glancing between the couple sitting across until he finished gulping down the sandwich. “Yeah. I mean, it’s not like I’m leaving Riverdale. _Or_ this neighborhood, or my job. We’ll be fine! I’ll come visit.”

“Right,” Veronica sighed. “Then I guess we’ll just miss you here.”

‘Playing gooseberry,’ Jughead wanted to offer, smiling his sweetest smile. He didn’t, of course.

…

Climbing up the stone steps to the one and only Cooper house front yard, Jughead noticed Betty standing at the front door like she’d been waiting for him. Of course, she’d been waiting for him! He readjusted the duffel bag on his shoulder and through the warm breeze whooshing around him, ran up to her.

She looked younger than she had when he’d met her days ago. No longer wearing those nerdy grandma glasses, her blonde hair was up in a neat high ponytail that made her look like a teenager who’d just changed out of school uniform.

“Hope you don’t mind me asking, but, how old are you?” Jughead asked easily, smoothly, curiously.

She opened her mouth, her dark blonde eyebrow arching up.

“Go to school? Riverdale High?” he interrupted before his mouth fell agape in thought. “ _Wait._ Riverdale High does _n_ _o_ _t_ have a uniform. And how do I know this? _Wel_ _l_ —”

“—Well, Riverdale High. Yes. I graduated two years ago,” Betty replied, tilting her head and giving him a stiff smile.

“Right, how am I supposed to guess that? Shouldn’t you be in college though? Instead of renting out rooms to strangers?”

“It’s none of your business,” she said calmly, though she appeared anything _but_ calm. “And _that_ is a stupid hat.” She pointed at the beanie he was wearing, his beloved beanie that had grown up with him.

“Thanks. It was my birthday gift.”

“Bet it’s older than you,” she glowered.

Jughead held his palms up in mock defense. “I touched a nerve. I’m sorry,” he said curtly, though he didn’t mean it. The sorry part, that was. In his defense, he wasn’t guilty.

After rolling her eyes and inhaling sharply, and making a show of composing herself, Betty motioned Jughead to follow.

“Upstairs, right,” he muttered, glancing around. As they reached the landing, he took in a few photos on the wall, all of them were of Betty and an older blonde woman staring right in his eye. “Your mom?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes,” came a curt reply.

“Where’s she?”

“None of your business.”

“Where’s your dad?”

“Passed away when I was 9.”

“Oh.”

He should have said something more, a sorry, but a strange lump in his throat stopped him.

He kept his eyes on Betty’s bouncing blonde ponytail. It wasn’t bouncing the same as it had been a few seconds ago. The awkwardness was getting awkwarder. He regretted asking Betty about her father… it still made no sense why the only pictures on the wall were of her and her mother… ones straight out of an abandoned haunted house… Betty was right, this was none of his business. Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut from the moment he’d climbed the stone steps. Not everyone moved out at 18. Not everyone went to college—he himself hadn’t. But then, who even wore ponytails like that? So… neat. Too neat. And had creepy pictures on the walls. Fuck, the feeling that resembled guilt was crawling under his fingertips.

“This way,” Betty said quietly.

He followed her into a room, the fresh indoor air smothering him. “Hey, look,” he began, needing to apologize for real this time, “I was bein—”

“—This is your room. That’s the balcony. And that’s the bathroom.” She gestured towards two doors, respectively.

“Does it have a bathtub?” he blurted out.

“Uh… It does. Yeah,” she replied, hastily tucking some invisible stray hair behind her ear, a gesture Jughead smiled at. He decided his apology could wait, or maybe fade over time.

“Cool.” Jughead dropped his luggage on the floor but didn’t move.

“If you need anything, the shops start down the road. I’d allow you my car, but I know you’ve got a bike.” With that, Betty walked backward and turned on her heels.

“Woah, wait,” Jughead cried out, stopping the blonde ponytail in her tracks. “What about the house tour? What about the kitchen? And access to your fridge and pantry?”

Betty turned towards him and crossed her arms over her chest, her boobs lifting with her rising shoulders, making him swallow thickly. Now that he was wickedly aware, he realized her pink bra was peeking through the tiny holes of her pink sweater that was shades redder, invisible to the normal eye.

“Fine, I’ll make myself comfortable,” he almost squeaked, barely meeting her gaze as her green eyes squinted. “By myself.”

“You’re paying for the room, everything else is off-limits. That’s the contract you signed, Remember? If I see you wandering around, I’ll kick you out myself.” Her voice was sweet, the message clear. He was in disbelief before concluding that he didn’t like it.

“Got it.” Jughead nodded slowly.

“Good. See you around.” She smiled like a robot, then left the room.

“You’re fucking with a Serpent, Missy,” Jughead muttered, then sighed because it felt pointless. Betty would probably laugh out loud if he told her he was a gang member. Without his jacket and signature scowl, he didn’t look it right now.

Walking over onto the balcony, he stared at the neighboring house that had been his home, even though for a while.

Archie had given Jughead a shelter, and a job at Andrews construction site—without any affiliation or prior experience. In a short time, they’d become ‘best friends’ as Archie—the stupid, naive lad who lived in bedtime stories—called it _._ To Jughead, they’d become two people who shared their meals, talked about random things, read each other’s minds, stood up for each other…

Jughead wouldn't miss that, but he would miss being there. In that house.

When Jughead had told Archie about his decision to move out, Archie had introduced him to Betty, an unknown neighbor, who had some sort of Paying Guest service going on.

Archie saw good in everyone and everything, and maybe that was the reason he’d never seen _evil_ in Betty Cooper.

Jughead let out a half-dark chuckle as he pulled the balcony door shut behind him, and looked around the room. To think, at first, even _he_ had misread Betty. He’d called her sunshine. Though, no one had heard him say it, which was a relief now that he knew she wasn’t it. She was a big-ass black cloud about to take over his happiness—because her kitchen was off-limits.

“At least she wasn’t kidding about the bathtub,” Jughead muttered before he stripped off his clothes and turned the faucets on to fill the large tub. He didn’t know how this bath thing worked, so, just some hot water and he was in a pleasing hell that was soothing his muscles.

When the water turned warm, Jughead stood up, making a splashed mess on tiled walls and floor, feeling reborn. He pulled the plug with his toes, and watched as the seemingly clean water ran out with an eventual whirl.

His legs wobbled as he climbed out, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. “Fuck me,” he muttered to no one, before grabbing his towel and beanie from the hook and putting on the woolly hat over his wet hair.

Then fetching his phone from the counter, he ordered a pizza, one he wouldn’t share with Betty. They could have become friends, if not more— _never more!_

It was her loss. Not his.

_Ricky saw you_ _at_ _Cooper house_ _today_

I live here,  JB.  Thought I told you.

Tell your little boyfriend he can stop following me around.

_RICKY IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!!!!_

_C_ _ouldn’t_ _you_ _find a better place?_

_How do I hide that_ _now_ _from_ _the Serpent King and Queen_ _?_

Nice place for lone wolves.

Kill Ricky. Keep your own mouth sealed.

Why am I not disowned yet?

_You'll get us in trouble someday_

_D_ _o_ _the Coopers_ _know who you are?_

Nah. 

Guess not.

How’s your  wrist ?

.

.

.

25 minutes later, the doorbell rang, causing him to frantically jump off the table he’d been sitting on. His good old iPhone flew somewhere, but he didn’t pay attention.

Jughead rushed down the stairs, only to see that Betty had already received his parcel. “That’s mine,” he called out, stomping over to her like a moody child.

Betty shoved the box into his gut, making him grunt. “Next time, make sure no doorbell rings,” she warned, then headed into the kitchen that smelled better than his pizza because he could smell it from where he was standing.

“Make sure no doorbell rings? That’s crazy. You’re crazy—you know that?” he yelled after her. Maybe he was crossing a limit—but her kitchen was off-limits!

She didn’t turn around, and he simply headed back into his room.

…

Just like that, _every_ evening, Jughead sat on the porch steps, waiting for his dinner, while Betty prepared something delectable in that kitchen he wasn’t allowed in. Apparently. But she didn’t know about his early morning adventure where he tiptoed to the kitchen to fill up his water bottle because it didn’t fit in the bathroom sink…

“Can I trust you to lock the door when you’re done?”

Jughead turned in his sitting spot, leaning against the railing, and saw Betty peeking through the half-ajar door. “Sure,” he shrugged. “Had dinner?”

She gave a small nod, then disappeared inside the house before he could say more.

…

A week and a half later, stumbling upon his feet at midnight, after trying to push the door open like an idiot, Jughead finally began twirling the key into Betty’s front door for what felt like forever.

When it finally opened, he let out a drunk chuckle and made his way in. “Hell, no,” he muttered. The couch was spotlighted by the streetlight, and he was suddenly tired to go to his room. “This is a bad idea, Jughead,” he muttered, walking over to it as his vision turned grey…

Betty didn’t take it well, though. She was covering her nose and mouth with a scarf, the next morning, which he thought was over-dramatic. But then, she coughed and told him he smelled like rotten fruits.

She didn’t seem angry, but he felt guilty, more so. He apologized, cleaned up every stain with his shirt, thankful he was wearing a t-shirt under it. She hadn’t asked him to, and she watched him silently. Moreover, he even begged her not to kick him out until she whispered an ‘okay.’

And later on that day, as he was yelling at his fellow worker for mismatching a tile pattern, the guilt over how he’d acted so helplessly in front of Betty—hours prior—slithered up his spine.

It wasn’t okay to allow personal life to interfere with work, that was what Archie always said. Jughead hated breaking Archie’s rules.

But Betty wasn’t close or important enough to distract him from work. She wasn’t even—

“Jughead!” Archie was heading towards him. “Where’s your head at? Don’t touch that with bare hands! Where the hell are your gloves?”

“I wasn’t,” Jughead retorted, grabbing the lid from the floor and closing the bucket. Archie was extra at times. “What’s up?”

“Need you to take over the paperwork while I redo the mold. One of the guys messed it up.”

He rose to his feet, letting the plastic footstool wobble away. “Not me.”

“Of course it wasn’t you. It was Brian,” Archie said. “And Rick said you wer—”

“—Ricky DeSantos?”

“Who? No… Rick. Our Rick? Rick Miller. Are you okay, Jug?”

He wasn’t. He was guilty, and angry. At himself. He had messed up, too. Like Brian, but worst. And it was eating him up.

He needed a redo, a correction memory of sorts.

So, the plan was _that_ simple; he would piss Betty off. Intentionally, this time. And there would be no room for guilt of any kind.

…

He was supposed to.

**Author's Note:**

> Do leave your thoughts (if you want) ❤️  
>    
> Follow me on Tumblr, and/or leave asks, just come say a 'hi!'  
> [fictitiousoshine.tumblr.com](https://fictitiousoshine.tumblr.com)
> 
> ~~Take Care, and stay safe.


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